A Study of Spatial Inequality in Blitar Area: Facilitating Worse-off People to Develop

Abstract

Spatial inequality is understood as the disparity among spatial units in a region perceived by thepeople. Some spatial units can provide proper and affordable public facilities and infrastructurewhile some others cannot. In Blitar region, spatial inequality is apparent between the North andSouth part of the region. In this case, the worse‐off people (WOP) suffered the most from thesituation. Brantas River stretching east‐west in the region, marks the boundary dividing theterritory into two parts: the North and South sub regions. So far, the North part appeared to bemore developed than the South. This study was aimed to answer the question “how to facilitatethe worse‐off people to get more equitable benefits from the regional development”. The studyexamined seven aspects of development, i.e. employment, income taxes, minimum wages, socialsecurity, educational services, health services and basic infrastructure. The study employedrandom sampling survey to the WOP of Blitar region, in proportion to the district units(kecamatan). Questionnaires provided perceptions from the WOP per household unit. The studyfound that the WOP living in the North do not always feel better than those in the South. TheNorth WOP are better in terms of taxation, minimum wages and educational services, while theSouth WOP are better in the aspects of employment, health services and basic infrastructure.Policy implication analysis recommended immediate reformulations of two policies regardingemployment and basic infrastructure, especially clean water and electricity.Keyword: equity‐based development, spatial inequality, worse‐off people